Don't Feel Guilty -- They Are Not Legitimate Businesses

> So anyhoo, I'm feeling like crap because I have no doubt that site is
> really bringing in the buckaroonies -- and they aren't really stealing
> anying except a couple minutes' time from each person who goes there
> looking for information.

First, I do empathize with those that wonder how they're going to make ends meet, having been there myself less than two short years ago.

However, those spam sites do a lot more:

1. They waste my precious time when I'm doing legitimate research.
2. When an ad appears on one of these sites and nobody clicks on it (which happens often), it hurts the AdSense advertiser's click through rate, possibly putting them in jeopardy of having their campaign dropped for not having enough clickthrough activity.
3. It's against Google's Terms of Service.
4. It prevents struggling online business people (like many people that find this forum) - people trying to provide valuable content and services -- from achieving search engine rankings that would help their business. In other words, they are a direct contributor to your struggles.
5. Google has too much money, talent, and reputation to allow these sites to continue and will come up with automated solutions shortly.
6. They contribute heavily to the refusal of many to take online businesses seriously.

In order for a business to be successful (things I learned in Business 101), a business must both make a profit AND provide service to its customers. In the case of GooSpam sites, only the former is possible -- therefore, it is not a legitimate business. No sympathy from me. EVER.

Let's face it: if you were in your local mall and saw a store that was filled with nothing but advertising slogans stolen from other stores, would you even bother going in? That's what these spam sites are!

I'd also like to say that you can't focus on the competition and what they have (or don't have) if you want to build a successful business. That does not preclude you from helping (as so many do by participation in forums, workshops, mentoring, and etc.), especially if the relationship is symbiotic, and it doesn't mean that I wouldn't help a legitimate failing business if I felt it was the right thing to do, but I'm not going to worry about leeches that are sucking the Google cash cow dry, either! Competition will always be there and it will always be fierce, and if you're going to "lose" to the competition, they should at least be a legitimate business, shouldn't they?

Sadly, some of those people that Google starts banning will eventually be here after Google gets to Step #5 above, and if you find this board and this post after Google banned you from AdSense for life, then I hope that you find the help you need here to successfully build an online business that provides value to customers and profits to you.

Thanks for listening,
Tom